IT Support Career

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So I have asked about a career in computer science on this forum. I have made a tentative decision to go back to a community college and become a IT Support Specialist. I understand I customers with computers and fixing software and computer hardware. learning about Network systems and databases. however what I don't know is how much mathematics is involved. I am really bad at math, however i can sort of do intermediate algebra but it takes alot of hard work. Can I be a IT support person if I am not the best at math? I want to ask the program director at the college but i would like to get some input here. My work schedule is such I don';t know if I can have a meeting within the next week. I want to tell my parents because I need money tuition as soon as possible before i start school in the summer session.

In my experience, community colleges usually have the degree/certificate requirements posted online. Go to the college website, look up the degree, and you should find a list of required courses. If there are math requirements beyond your current level of knowledge, maybe take a look at some library books or websites that correspond to those courses to get an idea of how difficult the coursework would be.

In the actual job, you need fairly little maths. But then, I never studied it but am an underemployed software developper so cannot say a lot about the formal requirements.

IT is flooded with people and is highly competitive anything less than a masters is worthless nowadays

You don't need to be good at maths at all to do IT support. Level 1 support is really mostly a customer service job - I would go as far as to say you don't even need to be good with computers to do it, you just have to be good at customer service. At higher levels of course you need to know your IT stuff, but you're still unlikely to need much maths. Hell, even many programmers get away without maths - but the best ones do tend to be good at it.

That's a bit extreme. Maybe it's true for some jobs where you are, but hopefully not for IT Support! If anything, a person with a Master's would be rejected for a support job as overqualified.

I thinking you math skills will be fine for the field of IT you are going for.

There should be a notion that there is a difference between Computer Science and Computer Support/IT. Computer support/IT is finding creative solutions in a set list of instructions to fix something with customer service skills more important than the science behind it because there really isn't, it's a technician job. Real CS is R&D, developement and usually requires a bachelors degree. Companies of all types want customer service skills, being an Aspie is fine depending on your boss. But in my experience don't take a CSR job where the CSR is more important than the tech skills because of what NT's expect.

I have been involved in some level of support/break-fix job for the past 16 years as a mechanic and an IT technician. In my current job, I perform Level 1, 2, and 3 support depending on the issue (I do not work in your average cookie-cutter tech support position - we are a very small group). I can tell you that in my line of work, Math is rarely required, rather 90% of my job requires customer service and troubleshooting skills. Having a sharp and long memory as well as documentation skills makes up the other 10%.

Whether you're working with customers face-to-face or over the phone, communication skills are paramount, and the ability to communicate with a non-technical customer in layman's terms instead of "techo-speak" is a big, big, big plus. There's nothing worse that leaving a customer in the dark or confused even more than they already are. Talking through the issue or letting the customer know what's going on if you're just waiting for results goes a long way.

Troubleshooting is typically much easier when you can see what's going on. When you're giving phone support, you have to illicit responses from the customer to help you build a "visual model" of the problem (at least that's how it works best for me). This is where analytical skills are required as you must be able to think analytically as well as pragmatically and give concrete answers instead of ramble off theories and "might be's" or playing "dartboard tech support". If you can't solve the problem and it needs to be escalated to the next level, documentation along with the communication skills will help you give the next level of support a strong base to go on so they don't have to repeat questions to an already frustrated customer.

Some things I recommend NOT doing:

• Saying or thinking, "that's impossible!" because let me tell you, nothing is impossible, and once you close your mind to a path, you are not being an effective nor comprehensive support person. Always remember that nything is possible.
• Telling a customer, "I don't know" or, "I'm not sure" without a, "...but I will research the problem and see what I can to figure out the problem." Stopping at, "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" sends the message to the customer that you don't give a crap about their problem. Again, communication. It can't be overstated.
• Berating or talking down the customer within earshot. You don't like to be called or treated like you're an idiot, right? Neither does the customer, and it's only exacerbated when the he or she is frustrated. Empathy goes a long way. If you're going to complain, berate, cuss out, or otherwise be negative about a customer, do it in the break room or someplace nobody can hear you. Last thing you want is someone to think that you're a jerk. It's perfectly OK to get frustrated with a customer (I can't tell you how many times I've had to walk away so I didn't say or do anything I'd regret within vicinity of the customer), but never let it show.

The main thing to remember as a support person is that you're the expert and it's very likely the customer knows enough to be dangerous but not enough to know how they got to the point. Being sympathetic instead of combative/put off by a frustrated customer can make everyone's day better. Explain things enough to where the customer knows you're working to find a solution, but not too much to where you confuse them. It's a delicate balance.

I am going on 10 years in the IT Support field, so I can offer some advice.

1.) Very little math is involved in the job. To major in IT, your going to have to do math though, but most IT majors (unless you can find one that focuses on support) will focus on programming and such. To do basic support though, no math.

2.) It is one of the few remaining fields were experience can trump education. I would much rather hire someone with 5 years exp and no degree than a degree and no exp.

3.) Getting a masters in IT without having at least 3-5 years exp will result in unemployment. I've seen it time and time again, people with masters in IT and no experience get passed over.

Very true, however, this is the proverbial "double-edged sword" because you usually can't get experience without getting a job, but in the same vein, you can't get a job without experience.

Being a "book tech" can only get you so far. Some issues have multiple paths to correct that a book or script can't cover them all. If I had to choose the person with a degree, I would rather see someone from a vocational school rather than a 4 year school. Why? Vo-tech education is usually more focused on the discipline with more opportunity for hands-on labwork. Not so much at a 4 year college.